NBC hopes the new system — which will be offered to advertisers at the start of the new fall season — will persuade advertisers to buy ad time on newer media such as VOD and cellphone video.

NBC isn’t satisfied with measures currently available to track viewing on these different outlets from Nielson, reports the Journal. To collect data for online, mobile and VOD usage, NBC will work with data providers such as research company Rentrak, online measurement firm Quantcast and Web analytics firm Omniture.

NBC shelled out $894 million for the broadcasting rights to the Beijing games for the 17-day sporting extravaganza. Network executives say this will be the biggest production event in television history, surpassing the $125 million the company spent in 2000 on the Sydney Games.

NBC plans to post some 3500 hours of recorded video online at the conclusion of each event, for the duration of the Olympics. Previously, NBC’s only streaming-video presentation during an Olympics was a single hockey game, which it streamed live during the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

The TV and video business is about to face a nasty downturn, and it could happen faster than most people expect — like, over the next two years. So says Lehman Brothers analyst Anthony DiClemente. The big winners? Digital distribution, such as Apple’s iTunes and Google’s YouTube.

Advertising agencies and high-profile brands have long salivated over the mountains of data that network operators have accumulated about their customers, and for good reason.

A typical profile of a postpaid user could include everything from name, age and billing address to location, usage habits and real-time location. Want to send a pitch to a middle-aged road warrior who’s constantly checking his phone for sports scores? Easy enough.

Looking to target women in their early 20s who live in college towns and carry an iPhone? Done.